Book reviews [1984, Vol. 11, no. 2]

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The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 11, No. 2 Fall 1984
BOOK REVIEWS
Linda H. Kistler, Editor
UNIVERSITY OF LOWELL
Richard P. Brief, Editor, Selections from Encyclopaedia of Account-ing 1903 (New York: Arno Press, 1978, irregular pagination, $28.00).
Reviewed by Edward N. Coffman Virginia Commonwealth University
The Encyclopaedia of Accounting (Encyclopaedia), edited by George Lisle, consisted of six volumes published in 1903 and 1904 by William Green and Sons of Edinburgh, Scotland. They contain "two hundred principal articles and many more minor notes on a variety of subjects in accounting and related fields of interest" (Preface).
Seventeen of the principal articles in the Encyclopaedia have been reprinted in Selections from Encyclopaedia of Accounting 1903, edited by Richard P. Brief. In addition, the first section of this book consists of reprints of the book reviews of the Encyclopaedia that appeared in The Accountant's Magazine shortly after each of the six volumes was published. These reviews are helpful in evalu-ating the Encyclopaedia, which Professor Brief refers to as the "first handbook of accounting" (Preface).
The second section presents the selected articles, which deal primarily with accounting history, financial accounting, and cost accounting. The content of each is summarized below.
1. "Accountant" by Richard Brown (6 pages) is a history of the growth of the accounting profession in Scotland.
2. "Accountants Abroad" by Th. Limperg, Jr., (3 pages) discusses the development of the accounting profession in The Nether-lands.
3. "Accounting in Its Relation to Economics" by Victor V. Bran-ford (27 pages) discusses the relationship of accountancy to economics in regard to value.